Spring Into Gardening

IRVINE, Calif. March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Do you think your backyard is too small to grow vegetables?  Think again!  The Orange County Great Park is pleased to present the Spring series of free workshops on sustainable home gardening.  The Great Park Garden Workshop Spring series begins Saturday, March 19th at 10 a.m., and is presented with support from Whitney Farms in cooperation with the University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Orange County.

"Grow it Now: The Heat Lovers" is the first workshop of the Spring series. Future topics include "Edibles in Containers" (March 26), "What's Bugging You?" (April 2), "Herbs – From the Garden to the Table" (April 16) and "Low-Water Lawns and Alternatives" (May 7).

Workshops are held in the Park's Farm & Food Lab, an educational garden where kids and adults can see many kinds of plants and produce growing. Participants in the workshops can also take a free ride on the Great Park Balloon or Carousel after class, weather permitting. Garden workshops at the Park began three years ago, and are part of the Great Park's agriculture education and wellness initiatives. The Great Park is also home to a popular Farmers Market held each Sunday, where you can purchase fresh locally-grown produce.

Full workshop descriptions available online at www.ocgp.org. The Orange County Great Park is located at Sand Canyon and Marine Way in Irvine.  For more information, please visit to www.ocgp.org or call 949-724-7420.

About the Great Park

The Orange County Great Park, with its 1,347-acre master plan, is the focal point of the redevelopment of the publicly-owned portion of the 4,700-acre former Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. The Great Park is currently 27.5 acres and includes an iconic tethered helium balloon that rises 400 feet in the air, providing an aerial view of Park development. A $70 million development plan to expand the Park to more than 200 acres is currently underway. The plan will build out a core section of the Park for the most immediate and wide-ranging public benefit, including the initial components of the sports park, a 114-acre agricultural area, and an art and culture exhibition space. For more information, please go to www.ocgp.org

SOURCE The Orange County Great Park